Construction sector struggles to keep up with tech industry growth - report

Growing tech industry poses a challenge to labor shortages in construction, according to Linesight

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Linesight said data center demand is expected to remain high because of increasing AI demands. This will have implications for data center design, construction, and costing.

The MD of Linesight UK, Michael Riordan, said: “The increasing demand for cloud services, growth of data-intensive applications such as AI, and the need for reliable and secure data storage are driving factors in the expansion of the data center market in the UK and Europe.”

Schneider Electric has estimated that AI power consumption could grow by more than threefold by 2028.

The report adds that Edge data centers will require further investment, as they are not currently equipped to support power-hungry compute and AI equipment.

Riordan said: “Amid cautious recovery, the UK construction industry can look forward to the possibility of a rebound in the latter half of 2024. While the government’s commitment to net-zero initiatives is helping to fuel this transformation, challenges persist in the form of skilled labor shortages and ongoing supply chain challenges. On a positive note inflation and material commodity prices have seen welcome decreases.”